TPI BD362WHS 36” Whole House Fan Belt Drive — Wall Ventilation Exhaust Fan w/Shutter for Commercial, Greenhouse, Shop — 1/3 Hp Motor, 3.1-6.3 Amps

Had to replace my old unit because the bushings finally disintegrated and could not find decent parts, plus these are a bit tough to disassemble. So, this new unit installed easily over the old frame. Wiring quick and simple. Runs quietly and pulls a lot of air, and we usually just use it on low. The only issue that I had is that the louvers would not work for my existing installation. My original unit had to be installed by cutting a joist and constructing a square box for the fan to fit in. The original louvers fit directly underneath that square frame and of course screwed in. This new unit is designed to span the joist without cutting it, which is actually a better approach. But as a result the new louvers are meant to fit under a joist. So it is not square and would require a lot of modification to the ceiling/drywall to mount the new one. So I just cleaned, lubed and put up the old louvers. Not a big deal, but the new one really seems well made and is probably quieter during operation, would have been nice to have been able to use it.

Received the box, no external box damage. When I opened the box and pulled out the fan, first thing that caught my eye was that the belt that connected the motor pulley to the fan pulley had a lot of slack. Later I discovered that there was no more adjustment for belt tension to make it tighter, it was already at full tension adjustment. I then notice that the motor mount plate that was welded to the frame was slightly bent, and the motor bracket that connects to the mount was also slightly bent causing the excessive slack in the belt. It appears the weight itself of the heavy unsupported motor in shipping eventually bent its own frame. I had to dismount the motor and bracket and bend the mount plate and bracket back to flat. See picture.Besides that.....I really like the fan. It installed easily into the old spot. It is quieter than our previous belt drive fan. It moves a lot of air.I still recommend this fan, but check the motor mount first thing, if its bent and you don't want to deal with it send it back.

I had this professionally intalled one month ago and this fan is awesome! On warm Pacific NW days I kick it into gear (2 speeds) as soon as the sun goes down and our 85 degree house (1750 sq feet) cools 10 degrees in 30 minutes. It's fairly loud - wouldn't want it on all night because it is near our bedrooms - but not that much louder than a box fan running on high (with belt drive, quieter than other fans). Whole house fans are fantastic energy savers that the government should be pushing like crazy as an alternative to air conditioning in many regions of the country.

The louvers came a little banged up in a corner due to poor packaging protection but I was able to bend the aluminum frame back in place. The reviews I read are all over the place. My honest opinion is that I decided for this more expensive one because it seemed the most solid one built and I didn't have any undue vibration or short life on a flimsily built frame. As every other product today labeled "Made in America" (they saved me the "with pride" bs.) it's more like assembled in America. It is what it is. This fan is helping me go through the South Florida summer with relative confort. My central A/C died and I don't like A/C anyway. Last night I had to throw a blanket over me because it was too cold. As it is happens most nights after 1 or 2 am. As I anticipated, this fan will walk me through most of the year with great confort and money savings. In the Fall and Spring the house tends to concentrate heat while the air outside is noticeably cooler. I used. to have to turn on the A/C for that. Not anymore. If I can make it through the worst of this subtropical summer in relative comfort, the rest will be a bliss. This is definitely not for the snowflakes that live 24/7 cocooned in A/C environs, just to be clear. Your body and mind have adjusted to artificial conditions and you won't like it. At least not in summer. Installation was pretty straightforward and doable for any handy person. Very please with this purchase.

There were problems getting the switch wired to operate properly from a standard wall switch. Other than that, it's a great fan.

For some reason our garage holds heat in the summer despite having windows open on all sides. This fan enabled us to force the hot air trapped above the windows out through the attic vents. It came with the vents, which close when it's off.

Now that it is installed, wouldn’t want to live without it.